Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Little Fuzzy

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As drought and hunger begin to drive his people to despair, a daring young Gashta (small, golden-furred humanoids) decides to seek the help of the Big Ones (humans) who look so busy and prosperous. The Big One, who identifies himself as Pappy Jack, names him Little Fuzzy, and takes him and his whole family in. However, when a Big One named Kellogg makes one of the Gashta disappear, it's the beginning of a big adventure for a Little Fuzzy.

The incomparable H. Beam Piper wrote Little Fuzzy in 1962, and in 1983 (some 19 years after his death), the story was reworked into this children's book. For an adult reader, the book has some real problems. There are a number of plot and character changes in the story, and several strange inconsistencies are included (e.g. the Gashta can speak fluent Lingua Terra even before they meet Pappy Jack, saying such things among themselves as, "Everyone in the compound knows that we are a sapient race of beings."). Also, though the book is nominally told from Little Fuzzy's viewpoint, it switches away from him during his absence from Pappy Jack's house, much as he temporarily disappears from the book Little Fuzzy.

But please don't take these criticisms too seriously. As a child's book, this book is nothing short of wonderful. The story is gentle (Goldilocks simply vanishes here), and the illustrations are simply wonderful. I've seen some of them in different places, but in this book they are large and marvelous to look at. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for any young reader. (Especially if the child has a parent who is a Piper fan!)

A children's version of H. Beam Piper's classic Little Fuzzy, the Adventures of Little Fuzzy, is told primarly from the point of view of the titular character, Little Fuzzy. The book features many illustrations, most in full color, is what would today be called a chapter book, a book aimed at readers in mid-Elementary school. The tone of the book is optimistic and allows the reader to sympathize with the plight of Little Fuzzy and his family.

A delightful read that introduces the Fuzzy-verse in an approachable format for the young reader.